Citizens United is the gift that just keeps on giving, most recently an eye popping $5 million dollar media buy against Congressman Grijalva. Putting this in perspective it’s what would normally be spent in Tucson by both sides. For all races. In a presidential race year.
Our democracy was pretty well torpedoed by thirty years of conservative ideologues sullying our Supreme Court and this could well be the end. A Republican dominated House will squat over Obama and not care that they’re shitting on the rest of the country as they pull every dirty trick in the book to ruin him.
The Republican’s sociopathic conduct doesn’t surprise me, but this district is 60/40 ours, Grijalva is the Progressive Caucus leader, and I’d love to watch them burn through that money and still come up 10,000 votes short.
Oh, and the perp behind this? A real estate swindler ...
Mr. Donald R. Diamond is Chairman of Diamond Ventures, Inc. His business interests include a variety of real estate investments and development projects in the southwestern United States and Mexico. His intuition, charisma and dedication are legendary, as is his commitment to success, his national, state and regional involvement, and his generosity to charitable causes. Mr. Diamond’s keen business acumen and commitment to perpetual learning have been essential to Diamond Ventures’ success.
Sounds like an upstanding fellow, eh? The actual report from Sandi Behrns reads a little differently ...
Don Diamond, for those not familiar, is the same land speculator we learned of in the run-up to the 2008 Presidential election. He is a good friend, and elite fund-raiser, for Senator John McCain. During the 2008 campaign, it was revealed that Sen. McCain had intervened to help Mr. Diamond get a sweetheart deal on coastal land at the former Ft. Ord Army base in Seaside, California. That revelation developed into a minor scandal of the 2008 race.
There’s more dirt on this guy sitting in my inbox, but we won’t burn through it all at once. I'm hearing stuff about a suspicious fire at a major real estate investment this guy had, gotta check more before I can say if it's a real problem or just innuendo.
A top Progressive is under attack by a McCain toady. We can turn out some cash, sure, but we really need is “earned media”. If we make enough of a roar about this it won’t matter that one kook bought the whole Tucson media market - advertising ain’t news.
If you want to help make some news for Congressman Grijalva you can find @Spedwybabs or @StrandedWind on Twitter - we’re organizing support for him. Congressman Grijalva can be found there, too, as @RepRaulGrijalva and he needs followers & RTs. Make contact, we’re going to be out there using Twitter to push the news around, making sure he gets positive coverage.
GOTV is what matters - this district is ours 3 to 2 and heavily Hispanic. If we get the word out that the residents are being gamed by McCain’s crew we think they’ll turn out in numbers and way pissed off. Saturating the district with Facebook ads between now and the election would cost around $1,000 and it reaches that key demographic of young people. If you’ve got it now is the time - Congressman Grijalva can be found at the very top of our fund raising page.
Congressman Grijalva commented below:
Thanks to everyone here for their support. Whether you're left, right or whatever, I think voters all over this country agree we need more transparency in who's paying for political messaging -- that includes unions, corporations, wealthy individuals, the Tea Party, you name it. We're not looking for special favors; we're looking for a level playing field where voters know who's trying to buy their vote. Better yet, we don't want those votes for sale.
Congress needs to hang a sign on the front door that says, "Not for sale." We can do that with the Fair Elections Now Act, the DISCLOSE Act and shareholder protection measures to make sure companies don't spend political money against their investors' wishes. Those three steps would move us further toward a fair election system. Public financing would put a stop to this nonsense once and for all, but as always, our democracy is a work in progress.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I've been where you all are now, wanting to help move things in a more positive direction and not knowing whether my actions will be enough to make a difference. Believe me, folks, they make a big difference. Government by the people is often not glamorous, and it takes a long time to get things right. But in the end, if we keep pushing, the results speak for themselves.
If you think Citizens United went too far, the Tea Party is bad for America, and our election system needs an overhaul, always remember you're not alone. Progressives are a big team. We can still get out there and kick ass with the best of them. I'm always doing my best. I know you are too. Thanks again for your support.